Friday, December 30, 2011

It's Not About the Scale!

I decided to start the year off with a January Whole30 challenge. Not sure what that is? Check it out here: http://whole9life.com/2011/10/whole-30-v5/ I know I’m a little early for a new year’s start but I didn’t want to wait for January 1 since I felt the urge to be healthier and happier NOW. A few extra days of fighting crappy food and cravings just did not appeal to me so I jumped right in.

I’ve completed the Whole30 before with great success. I’ve given up grains, excess sugars, processed foods, diary, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, nuts, fruits, and PUFAs. But one thing I’ve never conquered is the scale. And I’m NOT talking about reaching an arbitrary goal weight. What I mean is, I’ve never fully surrendered my scale. I truly believe that while big changes on the scale can tell you where you’ve gone wrong, once you’ve achieved some level of success it does very little to tell you what you’re doing right. Body composition changes are not about the number, they’re about replacing the lard with lean, hard, healthy muscle. True health is about maintaining low levels of inflammation and avoiding illness and medication as much as possible for as long as possible. And yet, even with my understanding of health and body comp and my desire to look like this: http://www.crossfit818.com/uploads/5/8/5/9/5859464/6893298.jpg?568 rather than this: http://girlstalkinsmack.com/14-celebrities-looking-too-thin and I still find myself stepping on that scale at least once a week, if not more.

I’m a scaleaholic. I’ve come to accept that deep down the scale is the last bastion of resistance from my old ways. If the numbers “improve”, even over just a few days, somehow I take that as an indication that I can be looser in my diet, even though my diet is now a lifestyle that revolves around nutrition, health and longevity rather than calories.

So I weighed in at the start of the challenge, took note of how my pants were fitting, and I will not step foot on that scale until February 1. I urge you all to make the same resolution. It’s not about the scale. It’s about living your life as clean and healthy as you possibly can for as long as you possibly can. Good health is a gift, gone in an instant, difficult to recover, and its absence will affect your every waking moment. Cherish it, nurture it, take control over it, and realize that it’s not about the scale!

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About Me

I’ve battled my body most of my life with fluctuations ranging from excuses and shame to focus and promise. As an attorney, I know how hard it is to maintain work/life balance, coping with late nights, office junk food, all day court battles with no time for snack breaks, catered meetings, networking happy hours, girls' night out with long lost friends, it never ends. I knew a tired, flabby body would only drag me down faster, age me, and end me long before my time. I worked hard to fight stress and stay healthy. I counted calories, spent hours on the cardio machines and endurance events, and got on the scale every day to make sure the balance was in my favor. Then something remarkable happened, I found the promise of longevity, health, energy AND a lean sexy body without the scale or counting any calories. I found the paleolithic diet. Rather than try to explain to everyone why this way of eating can change your life (there are experts FAR more eductated than I who can do it far more justice) I've decided to chronicle my journeys as an n=1 experience. I eat clean, lift hard, and at the end of the day work to love the person I see in the mirror, inside and out.